Post by account_disabled on Feb 27, 2024 1:52:32 GMT -5
zinc battery
The growing demand for renewable energy and electric vehicles is causing a huge demand for batteries that store the energy generated and power motors. However, so far, the batteries behind these sustainability solutions are not always sustainable.
Now, researchers at the University of Maryland Materials Innovation Center have developed a zinc battery with a biodegradable electrolyte from an unexpected source: crab shells. This new zinc battery could store energy from wind and solar sources on a large scale.
“Large quantities of batteries are being produced and consumed, raising the potential for environmental problems,” says the paper's lead author , Liangbing Hu, director of the Materials Innovation Center at the University of Maryland. “For example, polypropylene and polycarbonate separators, which are widely used in lithium-ion batteries, take hundreds or thousands of years to deg Brazil Mobile Number List rade and increase environmental burden.”
The new gel electrolyte is made from a biological material called chitosan, a product derived from chitin found abundantly in crab shells. Chitin has many sources, including the cell walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of crustaceans, and the feathers of squids. The most abundant source of chitosan is the exoskeleton of crustaceans, including crabs, shrimp, and lobsters, which can be easily obtained from shellfish waste.
Since chitosan electrolyte is biodegradable, two-thirds of the battery will degrade naturally without leaving any harmful products. The microbes could completely decompose the battery within five months. This leaves behind the metal component, in this case zinc, rather than lead or lithium, which could be recycled.
“Zinc is more abundant in the Earth's crust than lithium,” says Liangbing Hu. “Generally speaking, well-developed zinc batteries are cheaper and safer.”
This zinc-chitosan battery has an energy efficiency of % after , battery cycles, making it a viable option for storing energy generated from wind and solar energy for transfer to the electrical grid.
The team hopes to continue working to make batteries even more environmentally friendly, including the manufacturing process. “In the future, I hope that all battery components will be biodegradable,” says Hu. “Not only the material itself, but also the process of manufacturing biomaterials.”
The growing demand for renewable energy and electric vehicles is causing a huge demand for batteries that store the energy generated and power motors. However, so far, the batteries behind these sustainability solutions are not always sustainable.
Now, researchers at the University of Maryland Materials Innovation Center have developed a zinc battery with a biodegradable electrolyte from an unexpected source: crab shells. This new zinc battery could store energy from wind and solar sources on a large scale.
“Large quantities of batteries are being produced and consumed, raising the potential for environmental problems,” says the paper's lead author , Liangbing Hu, director of the Materials Innovation Center at the University of Maryland. “For example, polypropylene and polycarbonate separators, which are widely used in lithium-ion batteries, take hundreds or thousands of years to deg Brazil Mobile Number List rade and increase environmental burden.”
The new gel electrolyte is made from a biological material called chitosan, a product derived from chitin found abundantly in crab shells. Chitin has many sources, including the cell walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of crustaceans, and the feathers of squids. The most abundant source of chitosan is the exoskeleton of crustaceans, including crabs, shrimp, and lobsters, which can be easily obtained from shellfish waste.
Since chitosan electrolyte is biodegradable, two-thirds of the battery will degrade naturally without leaving any harmful products. The microbes could completely decompose the battery within five months. This leaves behind the metal component, in this case zinc, rather than lead or lithium, which could be recycled.
“Zinc is more abundant in the Earth's crust than lithium,” says Liangbing Hu. “Generally speaking, well-developed zinc batteries are cheaper and safer.”
This zinc-chitosan battery has an energy efficiency of % after , battery cycles, making it a viable option for storing energy generated from wind and solar energy for transfer to the electrical grid.
The team hopes to continue working to make batteries even more environmentally friendly, including the manufacturing process. “In the future, I hope that all battery components will be biodegradable,” says Hu. “Not only the material itself, but also the process of manufacturing biomaterials.”